Feeling Forgotten After the Storm

On the Lower East Side, thousands of residents, many of them elderly, remained trapped in high-rise buildings with no water, power or heat—and limited phone service to call for help, officials said.

ENLARGE

Signs of destruction due to Sandy were evident in the South Beach neighborhood of Staten Island on Thursday.
Jason Andrew for The Wall Street Journal

In Staten Island, Yonkers and Bridgeport, Conn. officials lashed out at power companies for responses they called slow and inadequate. And in Coney Island, residents roamed the streets, looking for help and wondering if they had been forgotten.

As millions remained without power for the fourth straight day, tempers began to fray. A growing number of neighborhoods expressed fears that somehow in the massive recovery effort, they had been left behind—even as their supplies dwindled and temperatures dropped.

By Thursday afternoon, wide swathes of the tri-state region remained without power, including 1.5 million people in New York State, 1.7 million in New Jersey and 348,000 in Connecticut.

Few places were hit as hard as Staten Island, where Consolidated Edision said 65,000 customers—more than one-third of the island—were without power on Thursday evening. Many won't get power back until Nov. 11, two weeks after Sandy.

The reason, officials said, was that Staten Island and other area are served by overhead lines battered by wind and fallen trees. Con Ed spokesman Michael Clendenin said the destruction was so vast that crews had been spending most of the past few days simply assessing damage. They are putting crews in "areas where we can restore the most people, the quickest," he said.

ENLARGE

Members of a Federal Emergency Management Agency urban search and rescue from Virginia search the South Beach neighborhood in Staten Island on Thursday, checking on the status of storm victims.
Jason Andrew for The Wall Street Journal

Mayor Michael Bloomberg asked New Yorkers to have patience with recovery efforts on Thursday. "We are desperately trying to help everybody," said Mr. Bloomberg.

But frustrations had already begun to boil over as millions went into their fourth day without power.

Russell Isak, 30 years old of Staten Island, watched his father wade through floodwaters Thursday as he tried to salvage things from their destroyed house on Seaver Avenue. "The first responders came through, but since then no one has been down here," said Mr. Isak. "No agency has been down here. Nothing."

In Bridgeport, Conn., power outages were concentrated in the city's poorest neighborhoods. With temperatures plunging and no heat in their homes, residents said they were struggling to stay warm. "Everybody is freezing in the house," said Larry Bell, who lives in the East End section of Bridgeport.

The 25,000 customers without power provoked criticism of United Illuminated Co. from Mayor Bill Finch. "We want the core urban areas to be treated with extra effort," Mr. Finch said.

The power company's chief executive, James Torgerson, said he is giving Bridgeport the same attention as the rest of the state. "We show no prejudices against any town," he said.

Mr. Torgerson said power would return by Monday night for about 95% of the remaining 94,000 United Illuminating customers who lost electricity.

ENLARGE

In Yonkers, where 19,000 were without power, Mayor Mike Spano said: "There is not enough Con Ed workers in Yonkers. We're ratepayers likes everyone else, and we deserve the same amount of service."

Mr. Clendenin, the Con Ed spokesman, said: "Over the course of the next several days, they will see more and more utility trucks on the street making repairs."

Even in the center of Manhattan, officials were struggling to meet a massive—and growing—demand for services. There were mounting concerns about people trapped in high-rise apartments without heat, electricity or water for days. Some buildings had created volunteer teams to check on residents.

"Everyone understands there is a need," said state Sen. Daniel Squadron, who represents the area. "Addressing the vastness of the need quickly is a huge challenge."

Officials at the Henry Street Settlement, a community nonprofit group, said they had received urgent Twitter messages from people out-of-state begging someone to check on stranded family members.

"The Lower East Side definitely reflects the disparity of what could be called a tale of two cities," said David Garza, executive director of the Henry Street Settlement.

Although his organization has spent days working with officials to distribute thousands of meals and supplies, "I won't say it's in good shape," he said. "As much as we've done it feels like a drop in the bucket."

More

A coalition of churches, charities and individuals distributed diapers, soup, pharmaceutical products, water and more to hundreds of East Village residents on Thursday, some of whom hadn't had access to fresh food or heat since the storm struck. "I am cold, tired, stressed and hungry," said Wanda Padun, a 49-year-old resident as she waited on line. "It's good that we have it now, but it's been days."

Some residents who tried to escape downtown's eerie, darkened streets and secure hotel rooms uptown were thwarted by an influx of visitors who began streaming into the city for the New York City marathon.

Molly Fonseca sat in the lobby of a Midtown hotel on Thursday afternoon, clutching her luggage as her puppy Milo slumped nearby. She had slept at the Hilton on Sixth Avenue Wednesday night but was told she couldn't extend her stay because rooms were booked for the marathon.

"It's terrible," she said, as she sat surrounded by runners. "It's either go back to the East Village, which is a hellhole right now" or find a couch to crash on.

On Coney Island, some residents said they felt lost and abandoned, with no contact with officials.

Oleksandra Kurovska and Sergey Kurovskiy watched in horror as water surged into their apartment Monday night, rising three feet, while winds shattered the window to their screen door.

On Thursday, Ms. Kurovska walked around the neighborhood in her bathrobe—the only dry clothing she has left, she said. The couple's apartment smelled of mildew and sewage. Appliances and electronics lay strewn on the mud-covered floor.

Ms. Kurovska said her flashlight died. She was using a Bic lighter to be able to see in the bathroom."I am really frustrated," Ms. Kurovska said. "I feel like I am lost. Nobody cares. Nobody is there to help."

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.